Dancing with Horses: Combining Dance/Movement Therapy and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy

Australian Community and Health Professionals Perceptions of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy

Mental health conditions are increasingly prevalent in the Australian population, and despite the large evidence-based support for contemporary treatments, there are barriers which inhibit their efficacy. Thus, there is a perceived need for therapists to consider other therapeutic options which have potential to enhance treatment outcomes. There is increasing acceptance for complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) among general practitioners and clients/general community. Specifically, more than 70% of Australians utilize CAM. Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is an underutilized, culturally sensitive, complementary therapy, which has the potential to mitigate barriers of conventional therapy. The present study aimed to determine the level of knowledge about and general acceptance of EAP as a treatment for general psychopathology symptomology within community members and health professionals. The current sample included 144 community members and 55 health professionals, all with Australian citizenship. Data analysis comprised the independent t-test and two hierarchical multiple regressions. Results indicated that community members are significantly more accepting of EAP as a treatment compared to health professionals. Of the predictors tested, higher social support and openness within community members were significant predictors of accepting perceptions, and rural location was the only significant predictor for health professional's accepting perceptions of EAP. This is one of the first studies to investigate perceptions of EAP outside the EAP field and through comparison between community members and health professionals. The current study identifies the need for future research to further investigate perceptions of EAP among Australian health professionals.

Patient-Centered Communication (PCC) in Equine Assisted Mental Health

Experiencing trauma can lead to a variety of chronic and acute symptoms, including post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and poor social skills. Given the variety of causes for trauma incorporating individualized treatment options is important for efficacy. Equine assisted mental health (EAMH) - a team approach incorporating equines, clients, and practitioners - has been successful in treating those who have experienced trauma, including veterans and individuals with PTSD, at-risk youth, victims of sexual violence, and children who have been neglected. Although researchers and practitioners understand some about how EAMH treatment results in positive outcomes for these individuals, little is known about the communicative processes that support them. The current study included 19 in-depth interviews with EAMH therapists and practitioners to explore the role of equine communication (i.e., congruence, ongoing positive regard, and empathy) as a communicative process that is integral to the facilitation of EAMH as individualized therapeutic treatment. Using tenets of patient-centered communication (PCC) and principles of client-centered therapy, implications for human-horse communication in therapeutic contexts and client-centered care are discussed.

Amy’s Story: An Existential-Integrative Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy Approach to Anorexia Nervosa

This article offers an existential-integrative framework to working with anorexia nervosa within an equine-facilitated psychotherapy setting. The discussion provides an overview of how existential-integrative theories can be blended into equine-facilitated psychotherapy and offers an existential-integrative perspective of anorexia nervosa. A case study illustrates the theories behind this blended approach in praxis.